Education Myths

In Education Myths, Jay Greene pulls off an impressive feat: an examination of complicated education research that is both engaging and useful to the general reader. In doing so, he convincingly disproves 18 common beliefs about public education. It is a serious piece of applied policy research. Perhaps Greene's greatest achievement is to explain why we should be deeply disturbed at the performance of our public schools, but not despair over the prospect of improving them. -- R Shep Melnick * Claremont Review of Books *
In recent years, few researchers [like Jay Greene] have consistently produced as much influential, and some would say heretical, research on topics roiling education. * Education Week *
With this clearly and powerfully written book, reformers everywhere will have the evidence and arguments they need to push aside the myths standing in front of the school house door. -- Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
This timely, plain-spoken, myth-demolishing book unmasks the self-interest, naiveté and well-intended gullibility that lead Americans to embrace eighteen seductive assumptions about education that turn out to be false-and that block the promising reforms that our schools and children urgently need. -- Chester E. Finn Jr., president, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
A must read for the many people who, frequently with good intentions, enter the policy arena without the relevant facts. -- Eric A. Hanushek, Stanford University, author of "Endangering Prosperity: A Global View of the American School."
Cleanly, deftly, succinctly, Jay Greene rips off the masks obscuring the realities of public education today. -- Paul Peterson, Director, Program on Education Policy and Governance, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Clears away the fog. Well-supported, powerful, and ultimately persuasive. A major contribution. -- Rod Paige, former U.S. Secretary of Education
Greene, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, challenges 18 popular assumptions in this accessible, data-driven polemic. His arguments stick close to the numbers compiled from numerous education studies, and, generally, Greene makes strong cases that would keep even education-policy gurus on their toes. * The Washington Post *
. . . the rigor, clarity, and energy with which the authors press their case make this book one the teachers unions do not want you to read. * Education Next: Journal of Opinion And Research *
Education Myths is a kind of 'freakonomics' for the education set. -- Maggie Gallagher
. . . provocative. . . -- Richard Lee Colvin * Los Angeles Times *
The prolific Greene, who heads a new education research center at the University of Arkansas, is a key player on many of these issues. -- Andrew J. Rotherham * New York Post *
Whatever readers may think of Greene's research, he provides an interesting perspective to the ongoing debates about what ails public schools and how to improve them. -- Vanessa Bush * Booklist *
In Education Myths, Jay P. Greene decisively refutes 18 myths that are routinely taken as facts by pundits and reporters. Mr. Greene's important book ensures that these potent education myths have been decisively refuted. -- Martin Morse Wooster * The Washington Times *
[Greene] makes a strong case for challenging assumptions in an era of limited resources. -- Mark Toner * Teacher Magazine *
Greene has a history of casting a skeptical eye on special-interest groups' assertions, thoroughly conducting his own research, and drawing conclusions based in economic theory. -- Lori Drummer, American Legislative Exchange Council * School Reform News *
...an important education reform book -- Jim Wooten * The Atlanta Journal-Constitution *
[Jay P. Greene's] book provides data-driven research and analysis to refute each myth, as well as a substantial bibliography to encourage further fact finding. We are reminded to let the facts inform us, even though powerful special interest groups seek to maintain the mythology and defy logic and scientific basis. * Education Reporter *